Why the Rich are Getting Richer
and the Poor, Poorer
Robert B. Reich
Quotes
• “Almost half the world’s population lives on
less than two dollars a day, yet even this
statistics fails to capture the humiliation,
powerlessness and brutal hardship that is the
daily lot of the world’s poor.” -----Koffi Anan,
UN Secretary General
• “A world where some live in comfort and
plenty, while half of the human race lives on
less than $2 a day, is neither just, nor
stable.” — President Bush
2
Gap between the rich and the poor: A
Global Phenomenon
• Global Inequality – The systematic differences in wealth
and power that exist between countries
• Indicators of Economic Development –
– GDP – A country’s yearly output of goods and
services per person
– Three economic classes as determined by the World
Bank -- low, middle, and high. (macro national level)
3
Global Inequality: Differences between
Countries
• High Income Countries
–
–
–
–
GDP of $9,266 per person
Generally those first to industrialize
Account for only 15% of the world’s population
Lay claim to 79% of the world’s annual output of
wealth
4
Global Inequality: Differences between Countries
• Middle-Income Countries
– GDP of $756 - $9,265 per
person
– Most began to industrialize
late in the 20th century.
– Includes 45% of the world’s
population
– Only accounts for 18% of the
annual output of wealth
5
Global Inequality: Differences between Countries
• Low Income Countries
– GDP under $755 per person
– Mostly agricultural economies that have only
recently began to industrialize
– Accounts for 37% of the world’s population
– Produces only 3% of the annual output of wealth
6
The Rich get Richer, the Poor get Poorer
– 1.5 Billion People, ¼ of the world’s population lives in
poverty.
–Why are incomes
diverging???
–The function you perform
in the world economy
7
An Overarching metaphor
Structural Analysis
• How would you divide the passage?
Structural Analysis
Para.1-2: We are now in different economic
boats.
Structural Analysis
Para.3-20: Why the boat containing routine
producers is sinking rapidly.
Structural Analysis
Para.21-27: Why the boat carrying in-person
servers is sinking more slowly and unevenly.
Structural Analysis
Para.28- 42: Why the vessel containing
America’s symbolic analysts is rising.
3 Classifications
• Who are they? What do they do?
Group 1
• Routine producers:
workers who work
regular hours for the
manufacturing plants or
corporations.
Group 2
• In-person Servers: those
who work in the service
industry.
Group 3
• Symbolic Analysts:
those who sell their
insights and skills. They
are problem identifiers,
problem solvers, innova
tors who can visualize n
ew uses of existing tech
nologies.
Brainstorming: Examples
Routine Producers
• Blue-collar workers
• Clerks, secretaries,
• Foremen, section chief,
• More???
In-person Servers
• Waiter, waitress
• Sales assistants
• Retail sales workers
• Aerobics instructors
• More???
Symbolic Analysts
• Scientists, engineers,
technical specialists
• Marketers, architects,
advertisers,
consultants
(management, energy,
political )
• Investors, bankers,
lawyers
• Top managers,
executives
• artists
• More???
Why is the boat containing routine
producers is sinking rapidly?
• The traditional pattern of wages in the core
corporations:
Reinvestments
in new plants
and equipment
Top managers and
investors
Middle managers and
production workers-----growth
of middle-class
Globalization
• Core corporations are rapidly breaking down
into global webs: Routine producers in the U.S.
are in direct competition with those in other
nations.
• Heavy industry and international corporations
strive to search for ever-lower wages.
Cheapest Labor
Singapore
Shreveport
Thailand
AT&T
Routine data processing: Saztec
International
Headquarter:
Kansas city
Earns most
Manila
Philippine
Coding
• Since more and more Information is converted
into computer readable form, the simple
coding of computer software has also entered
into world commerce. (para.11)
• This further leads to the shift of routine
workers from advanced to developing nations.
The Technology Gap
– Gap continues to widen
between technologically
enabled countries and
those without technology
24
• Routine production jobs have vanished fastest
in traditional unionized industries. (Para.15)
• seniority
Why is the boat carrying in-person servers
sinking more slowly and unevenly?
•
•
•
•
•
In-person servers’ competitors:
Former routine production workers
High school graduates and dropouts
Immigrants
Laborsaving machinery (fiercest)
Why is the vessel containing America’s
symbolic analysts rising?
• Symbolic analysts at the top are in great
demand.(para.28)-----The most important
reason for such great demand is the dramatic
improvement in worldwide communication
and transportation technologies. (para.35)
• Symbolic analysts in the middle range are not
limited to American customers.(para.29-32)
• Those who manipulate oral and visual symbols
are earning cultural capital.(para.33)
Symbolic Analysts
Rising demand
Rising
compensation
Wider gap
Para. 36-42
Routine producers and Symbolic analysts
in-person servers
Monotonous
Creative
Little independence
and discretion
Substantial discretion
There are constraints
on their earnings.
Their earnings are not
limited.
Summary
Globalization
• Large, global corporations with workers everywhere competing at a
global wage.
They face fiercer competition from different fields.
They are in great demand.
• They can work in transnational way.
• Their earnings are not limited.
Making Connections
• Put what the writer said in the Chinese
context, and do you think the rich/poor
discrepancy in China is also caused by the
those factors? To what extent do you agree or
disagree with the author?
Vocabulary (Para.1-2)
• The club welcomes all new members regardless
of age. (means paying no attention to)
• We went through school and college together,
but then our paths diverged. (separate and go in
different directions.)
• By and Large, your plan is a good one. (on the
whole)
• Share prices languished at $2. (be forced to stay
somewhere)
Vocabulary (Para.3-27)
• The deteriorating environment poses a threat to
human‘s health. (present a danger to， para.3)
• The existence of these weapons poses a grave
threat to the future of the world.
• The factory introduced a state-of-the-art system
from abroad. (the highest level of development at
present time, para.4)
• Some believe that corruption is ineluctable
among officials. (unavoidable, para.5)
• Routine data processing is equally footloose.
(not confined to the place, carefree, para.7)
• Bert is a footloose, unemployed actor.
• Her difficult childhood spurred her on to
succeed. (encourage, para.11)
• The new software will prove a boon to
internet users. (something that is very helpful,
para.12)
• Many of the houses in the slum area lacked
basic amenities. (some facilities that make a
place comfortable, para.18)
• She wrote the ebullient letter as soon as she
got to her flat. (energetic, para.18)
• We find newspaper ballyhoo unbearable.
(unnecessary noise and excitement, para.19)
• He charged a relatively modest fee. 他收取的
费用不算高。(para.21)
• Squirrels garner nuts for the winter. 松鼠为过
冬储存松果. (para.21)
• Adults are often immune to German measles.
成人往往对风疹有免疫力。(para.21)
• Being the only son in the family, the young
man was immune from military service. 由于
是独子, 那个年轻人被免于服兵役.
• They plan to fabricate a cinema next year. 他们
计划明年建造一座电影院.(para.22)
• Can you substitute for the singer who is ill? 你能
替一下那位得了病的歌手 吗 ? (para.22)
• Violence and military attacks will imperil peace.
暴力和军事打击可能危及和平.
• Each animal has its ecological niche. 每种动物都
有自己的生态位. （para.23)
• You can then find your own niche in public life. 那
样你就可以在社会生活中找到适合于你的位置.
• The cut in bank rate is expected to buoy up the
economy. 银行利率的降低可望振兴经济.(para.24)
• There's nothing like a good joke to buoy one's spirits.
没有什么像一个好的笑话那样能振奋人们的精神.
• A little bonus will give the employees an incentive to
work harder. 一点奖金可以刺激雇员更加努力地工作.
(para.24)
• Scientific knowledge is cumulative. 科学知识是积累起
来的.(para.24)
• He lives in Beijing or thereabout ( s ). 他住北京一
带.(para.24)
• It was very cold and the temperature fell to zero or
thereabout. 天气很冷,气温降到零度左右.
• The town is perched on the edge of a steep, precipitous
cliff. 该镇坐落在陡峭险峻的悬崖边上。
• To stave off disaster we could look only to them. 要阻挡灾
难来临,我们只能指望他们了(para.25)
• He thought of riding a camel to conserve his strength and
stave off hunger. 想到这里,他想骑上骆驼,省些力气可以
多挨一会儿饥饿.
• Lavish gifts were bestowed on the visitors. 向来宾赠送了
厚礼.(para.27)
• We are apt to wish for what we can't have. 我们往往会祈
求得不到的东西.(para.27)
• He is apt to leave things about. 他总喜欢把东西到处乱放.
Vocabulary (Para.27-42)
• Dickens contrasts the opulence of France's nobility with
indigence of her peasants. (richness, para.28)
• Secretaries have to keep track of their bosses’
appointments. (maintain a written record, remember,
para.28)
• It seemed difficult for the celebrity couple to get rid of the
ubiquitous paparazzo(狗仔队）.
(seeming to be everywhere, para.30)
• I think this is just a government ploy to deceive the public.
(trick, para.30)
• It was all a ploy to distract attention from his real aims. 那
纯粹是障眼法,用以分散人们对他真正意图的注意力.
• Her unctuous tones are disgusting. 她那虚情
假意的语气叫人恶心. （para.33)
• Soul Power is a power that can only emanate
from within. 只有灵魂力量是从内在发出的.
(para. 34)
• She is so independent that she refused all
pecuniary aid. 她很独立,所以拒绝一切金钱
上的资助. (para.36)
• Equal compensation should be given to men and
women for equal work. 男女同工应同酬.
(para.36)
• Hold the ladder tightly and move up a rung at a
time. 抓紧梯子一级一级地往上爬. (para.37)
• From what I was able to glean, it appears they
don't intend to take any action yet. 根据我所收
集到的资料分析, 他们看来还不打算采取任何
行动. (para.37)
• The book will whet your appetite for more of her
work. 你看了这本书就会更想多读她的著作。
(para.37)
• I had much ado to forebear laughing. 我费了很大的劲
才忍住笑. (para.38)
• The deal had the tacit approval of the President. 这笔
交易得到总统的默许.(para.39)
• By tacit agreement , Clark's friends all avoided any
mention of his mentally ill wife. 克拉克的朋友们心照
不宣, 绝口不提他那位患精神病的妻子.
• The two countries are immensely disparate in size,
culture and wealth. 这2个国家在面积、文化和财富
上迥然不同。（para.39)
• Every stakeholder in a society must contribute to the
society's success. 社会中的每一位利益相关者都应该
为了社会的成功而努力. （para.39)
• Making banal remarks was one of his bad habits.
他的坏习惯之一就是喜欢说些陈词滥调.
（para.39)
• They enjoy the comfort and banal luxury of their
dwelling. 他们享受着舒适和庸俗奢华的住所.
• The gangster walked into the room surrounded
by his cohort. 一名匪徒走进被他的一帮人包围
的屋子. （para.40)
• His talk was so diffuse that I missed his point. 他
的谈话漫无边际,我抓不住他的要点.
(para.41)
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Work stoppage
Exact a premium
broker
Profit margins
Fiber-optic cable
Layoff
Tax abatements
Automated tellers
Robotized vending
machines
• euthanasia
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停工、停产、止付
索取额外费用
协商、调停
利润幅度
光缆
下岗
减税
自动取款机
机械化贩卖机
• 安乐死
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寿命
预算赤字
供大于求
八旬老人
权贵、巨头
环球航行
土木工程师
政治说客
电台主持
规模经济
老生常谈
利益攸关者
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Life expectancy
Budget deficit
Supply exceeds the demand
Octogenarian
Mogul
Circumnavigation
Civil engineer
Lobbyist
Anchor
Scale economy
platitude
stakeholder
synonyms
• Rich----affluent, opulent
• Beautiful and impressive --Wondrous，swank
• State-of-the-art-----most
advanced
• untidy----sprawling
• carefree, fancy-free ---footloose
• Large ---princely
• Encourage----spur
• Current, popular----prevailing
antonyms
• Ineluctable-----avoidable
• Wither---increase
• Ailing----healthy
• Obsolete---prevailing
• Opulence---indigence
• Disparate---identical
synonyms
• Pop up----come out
• Modest----demure,
• Obtain----garner, glean
• Ubiquitous—common,
universal
• Ploy---manoeuver
• Spur---buoy